To Hate A Genzlinger
by Broadwaygirl21
Summary: It's no secret that Nick is not Paul's biggest fan. But why, exactly? When something Schmidt says sets him off, Nick is determined to prove that he has perfectly good reasons to hate Paul Genzlinger. And none of them have to do with Jess. None at all...One-Shot, Nick/Jess.


**Hiya! People of the New Girl fandom, it is I! Lol. I'm back with another one-shot! My previous one, "Mission Impossible" was liked well enough, and this idea was stuck in my mind! And so, this was born.**

**Re watching the "Thanksgiving" episode in season one, last week, I thought it was adorabubble how Nick didn't like Paul. Well, in my perspective... Here's why.**

**Disclaimer: *snorts* Hah!**

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All Nick wanted was a, in Schmidt's words, Dudesgiving. Football, beer, Best Buy. Was that really so much to ask for? Honestly, he felt as if he was losing his mind! Three months ago, they didn't even know this girl!

But he seemed to be the only one with issues regarding Jess, because everybody seemed to enjoy 'Hanksgiving.' Just like everybody seemed to like Paul. Nick knew that he was grumpy and naturally angry but, come on! Was he seriously the only person who saw Paul Genzlinger as a nuisance?!

Jess came in, carrying a fat, uncooked, turkey named Hank and, not only was he supposed to let _his_ Thanksgiving be 'Jess-ified,' but he also had to withstand that idiot?

The way Jess had been talking about him, Nick had expected a real man. Not that pansy.

Rolling his eyes at the ceiling the day after Best Buy, he got up to get something to drink. Jess and CeCe were off doing weird girly stuff that he'd never understand, and Winston was somewhere being Winston. Schmidt was the only one left in the loft and, there he stood. Clad in his kimono, the man looked utterly ridiculous. And, to make matters worse, he was standing right in front of the refrigerator.

"Schmidt. Move." He growled.

"Woah, down boy. I don't work on weekends." Schmidt retorted, making Nick wince in disgust.

"Oh, shut up." He barked, reaching for a cool beer. He opened it and took a nice, long sip, forgetting all about Paul, Turkey, Jess...

"Drinking your feelings? How typical." He heard Schmidt mutter. Putting the beer down, Nick gave his roommate a turtle face. He would've gave him a quizzical expression, but that would be showing to much emotion.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Schmidt quirked his eyebrow, smirking.

"Oh, really? Well, what I mean Nicholas-"

"Don't call me Nicholas." Nick interrupted.

"-Is that drinking is your number one solution. You quit law school, found yourself poor? You drink. Caroline dumps you, gets back together with you, then dumps you _again_? You drink. And now, Jess has found herself somebody who can actually express his feelings for her. And what do you do? You drink." Schmidt told him, relishing in the feeling of catching his best friend completely off-guard.

"Schmidt, what are you implying? I drink, because I want to drink! I admit, I've turned to alcohol as a solution before, but what does Jess have to do with any of this?!" Nick yelled, growing defensive.

"Nick, Nick, Nick. You think you're so good at hiding your emotions. But I notice things. I know why you truly hate Paul."

"Because he's annoying!" The bartender responded.

"Because he has Jess." Schmidt said calmly. Nick took some time to register this news. It-It wasn't true. Was it?

"No, there are many perfectly good reasons to hate Paul Genzlinger! And none of them have anything to do with the fact that he's dating Jess!"

"Alright then. Name five." Schmidt challenged, leaning back on the counter. Oh, he was going to enjoy this...

"I can totally do that!" Nick accepted, trying to convince himself, rather than Schmidt. "Reason number one: He is super annoying!"

"Care to elaborate?" Taking another swig of beer, Nick glared at the tiny man in a kimono. "He is just so... Happy! He plays the fiddle! Who plays the fiddle?!"

"Uh, a lot of people. I happen to dabble with the fiddle myself... Not the musical kind, though." Schmidt answered.

"Jar..."

"Nick, maybe the reason you fins him annoying, is that he's actually perfect for Jess!" He continued.

"What?! He is not! I mean, it isn't! Reason number two: He, uh, h-he... He told me everything about himself! He told me where he got his copies, he told me about his dead grandmother, he wanted to open the door with me. _With_ me, Schmidt!" Nick defended his theory, proudly. Maybe he should've been a lawyer. If lying was all there was to it...

Wait, lying? He sighed, realizing that he couldn't deny his true reasons much longer. Not to himself. To Schmidt, though... He could most definitely deny him everything. Hey, looks like he could be a good liar if he tried! You learn new things every day.

"Nick? Nick!" Schmidt's pestering voice snapped him out of his revealing reverie.

"Oh, right. Reason number three-" He was cut off by the sound of the door closing with a loud slam. Jess and CeCe suddenly appeared, with Paul in tow. He and the raven haired beauty were giggling over something. Turning around, Jess saw the two roommates and smiled. Was it just Nick's imagination, or did her big blue eyes get a little brighter when she saw him. _No, quit daydreaming. _

"Oh my god, you guys have to hear this joke!" Paul nodded, before controlling his laughter. "How does NASA organize their parties?" He asked. CeCe rolled her eyes in tune with Nick.

"They planet!" Jess delivered the punch line, and began to hilariously squeal.

"Honestly, where do you come up with these?!" She asked, twirling around. Paul shrugged, intertwining his hands With the small girl's.

"I hear them, and I know they'll make you laugh. So I remember them." He explained simply.

"Oh, Paul! That's so sweet!" She leaned in to kiss him gently, and Nick felt a small twinge at his heart. And suddenly, he couldn't deny it to anybody any longer.

He was completely, head-over-heels, in love with Jessica Day.

Eyes widening at this new revelation, he caught a smirking Schmidt staring at him. God, was he really that transparent? Thank goodness Jess wasn't the most observant person, or she'd have laughed him out of the loft.

Paul said goodbye, leaving. CeCe and Jess instantly went into her room, to talk and shriek (_Very loudly_) about their relationships.

"So, you were on reason number three. Wow me." Schmidt reminded him.

"Schmidt, I have a million reasons to hate that guy." Nick admitted, prepping himself. "Reasons one through one million: I will never, in a million years, be him." Schmidt, shocked at first, quickly understood.

"Because he's likable, nice, smart..." The kimono dressed man listed. "Honestly, the list of things he's better at than you is endless."

Nick let out a wry laugh, picking up a pink ribbon that had dropped from Jess's hair. "You know what's at the top of the list?" Shaking his head, he took another swig of beer.

"Expressing his emotions. How does that guy do it? I will never be able to tell her how I feel. And why? Because I can barely talk to her without feeling the urge to kiss her. Yet, I can barely stop screaming at her! Honestly, what is wrong with me?!" He asked, settling down on the couch, the bartender ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"You're in love." Schmidt answered.

"Uh, no I'm not. Love is way too strong a word. I just like her." He contradicted, his mind making him completely defend a lie.

"If you say so..." Schmidt got up from the couch, and walked into his room, leaving Nick alone. Thoughts swirling around in his head, he tried to keep his inner voices to shut up.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" He wondered aloud. Walking over to the balcony, he wondered why nobody ever went out here. It was so nice an peaceful and...

He suddenly knew how to let his feelings go. Closing the glass doorbs behind him, he took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"I, Nicholas Miller, am in love with one, Jessica Day!" He didn't see anybody responding, though a few people in fancy cars honked at him and sent him dirty looks, that probably meant that he should go back inside. Ready to face his loft-mates, what Nick had missed was something of extreme importance. An open window.

Jess's open window.

Her blue eyes, open in surprise, gleamed happily. CeCe stared at her, smirking, looking an awfully lot like Schmidt had, a couple of minutes ago.

"I told you so!"

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**That's it for this one-shot! I hope you enjoyed a tiny bit of Ness, it is good for the soul! I, personally, think that Nick was particularly grumpy in the "Thanksgiving" episode, because he was maybe, just the tiniest, bit... REALLY JEALOUS!**

**Hey, I'm a dreamer. You never know...**

** ~ Rae**


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